THE BRUTALIST
2025 | Dir. Brady Corbet | 215 Minutes
"No matter what the others try and sell you, it is the destination, not the journey."
In 1947, talented Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor László Tóth arrives in America to begin a new life. Catching the attention of industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren following a contentious chance meeting, the wealthy businessman hires László for an ambitious project and promises his family safe passage to America. However, László's personal demons and Van Buren's fickle and cruel true nature warp the immigrant dream into a nightmare playing out over decades.
The general premise of writer/director Brady Corbet's The Brutalist has all the ingredients of a standard prestige picture centered on the journey of an immigrant struggling to make it in America. However, the film's prologue featuring a striking inverted view of the Statue of Liberty quickly clues the audience into the fact that the narrative will unfold quite differently from the routine inspirational story. The Brutalist spends its first half combining shreds of hope and aspiration with abject desperation and cruel betrayal as László's every achievement is immediately followed by severe setback. The life-changing opportunities Van Buren offers to László before the halfway point seem to suggest the times of hardship will come to an end thanks to the admiration of his rich benefactor, and that the narrative may yet amount to an uplifting triumphant immigrant story. However, the gut-punch of the second half makes it clear that Van Buren and his son only consider László and his family as resources to be abused, his refusal to compromise met with underhanded retaliation, sending the architect reeling into a deeper state of despair that is all too relatable for any immigrant who ahs ever felt exploited. The picture as a whole is a bold criticism of the very notion of the American Dream, suggesting that it is hardly attainable by everyone, least of all by those unwilling to sacrifice their basic dignity.
Filmed in its entirety using the old fashioned VistaVision process, cinematographer Lol Crawley's work for The Brutalist is nothing short of breathtaking. The aesthetic of the picture gives it a nostalgic quality that complements its period setting very well and accentuates the grandeur of the featured architectural work. The film is visually splendid, from the reveal of Van Buren's new library with its massive folding wooden doors, to the on-location photography at the Carrara quarries, to the massive community center - most notably its ethereal chapel. Daniel Blumberg's score is a superb fit for the picture, alternating between moody and foreboding with bursts of orchestral glory at key moments.
In the lead role as the devastatingly vulnerable László, Adrien Brody is the best he's ever been on screen, affecting and nuanced in his approach to playing the rather complex character. Guy Pearce is perfectly convincing as the pompous, duplicitous, and insufferably pretentious Van Buren. Felicity Jones is also exceptional as László's wife Erzsébet, serving empathetically as the voice of reason as well as a grounded representation of post-war trauma. The supporting cast features memorable performances from Joe Alwyn as Van Buren's obnoxiously entitled son, Raffey Cassidy as László's niece Zsófia who is non-verbal for much of the film, and Isaach de Bankolé as László's loyal friend and confidant Gordon.
Beautifully composed on an epic cinematic canvas, The Brutalist is a monumental work of art uncompromisingly conveying the undesirable aspects of the immigrant experience in America. An emotionally raw saga, the film skillfully depicts the ever-present conflict between the impoverished and the wealthy, artistic expression and merciless pragmatism. It is a powerful cinematic production exploring the uncompromising process of channeling trauma into creation, pointedly condemning those who would exploit such creation for its worth.
FRAGMENTS
- As Hans Zimmer's musical score for Dune: Part Two is questionable ineligible for an Oscar nomination, Daniel Blumberg's score for this film is my pick for 2025 Oscar for Best Original Score competing against the scores for Conclave, Emilia Pérez, Wicked, and The Wild Robot
- Van Buren's literal raping of László during the second half is a bit on-the-nose, but I suppose it drives home the ultimate message of the picture
- The epilogue of the film, opening with a 1980-appropriate synth-driven version of the film's overture, also works overtime to deliver the message of the story as Zsófia explains to attendees of an architectural exhibition in Venice (and by extension the film's audience) how László's expressed his personal trauma hidden within the design of the community center
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Guy Pearce (Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3)
- Isaach de Bankolé (River Tribe Elder in Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
